Keep Sterling on the Lake Students at Their Current High School

Hall County Board of Education is proposing to split the current Flowery Branch High School into two high schools. Our Sterling on the Lake students will be removed from their current, neighboring high school directly across the street and bused miles down the road to a converted high school that is currently a middle school.

According to a meeting with Dr. Turpin, with the Hall County BOE, the current high school located off Elizabeth Lane will be under capacity of 180 students in the initial year of this program after the split (2018-19). While we were unable to get the exact numbers of high school students in our community, according to the current Hall County school enrollment figures, and the US Census Bureau for Hall County households, there are approximately 150 high school students per 1000 homes. With approximately 1000 built homes in Sterling, there is enough room for our students to stay in their home school.

On top of that, just under 400 students are being pulled from an overcrowded Johnson High School into our current school displacing our students versus being easily zoned to the current CW Davis building, which is being converted to a high school. There would be less overall student and household impact by allowing our children and neighborhood to remain in their current and closest location.

Additionally, the Spout Springs road widening project will start in 2019. The Georgia Department of Transportation stated in their public hearing handout, "Due to the large number of pedestrian attractions, such as schools, a park, and a library, both sides of Spout Springs Road will include a 10’ multiuse trail between Union Circle and Elizabeth Lane." This would no longer be the case if we are no longer part of the school's district. The handout further states the entrance of Sterling on the Lake will be aligned with Elizabeth Lane, where there is an entrance to the high school. The Department of Transportation recognizes the community need for multiuse trails to access the schools from neighboring communities. Sterling on the Lake is a community that enjoys its close proximity to their schools and has been pushing for sidewalks so our children can walk to/from school for class, events, sporting activities, and etc. The school is so close in proximity that our neighborhood events utilize the school parking lot for traffic.

The benefit of a close, quality school is also a major contributor to the attractiveness and value of our community. The loss of our school is a loss to our community.